Public safety minister expresses concern over Alberta RCMP vacancy rate

Article content

Alberta’s public safety and emergency services minister says he needs to take action to address the lack of police coverage in some rural areas of Alberta.

Mike Ellis said Monday that vacancy rates within Alberta RCMP detachments are an ongoing concern for the provincial government.

Article content

Alberta’s RCMP officer vacancy rate is 21.6 per cent, Ellis said. The federal government has authorized 1,911 officers for Alberta, but there are only 1,498 officers in the province, a shortfall of 413.

Article content

“Make no mistake, we are paying for these services we are not receiving, meaning more than 400 vacant RCMP officer positions for non-field personnel,” Ellis said during an online roundtable with rural media on Monday .

Of those vacant positions, 177 officers are on “some type of license,” costing Alberta taxpayers $16 million, Ellis said.

“We are already paying $16 million for services we do not receive,” he said. “I need police officers to be on the street responding to calls for service.”

The Alberta government’s 2024 budget includes $377.8 million in RCMP funding, an increase of almost $21 million from the previous year, he said.

The RCMP is having recruiting problems across Canada, but has tried to address the needs of younger Canadians who might be interested in becoming police officers, Ellis said.

“But that will take some time,” he said. “There are certain areas of Alberta where there is not 24-hour coverage. “That’s unacceptable, so I’m trying, again, to do what I can to think outside the box to be able to meet those needs.”

Article content

Article content

Ellis, a former Calgary police officer, said no matter where someone lives in Alberta, that person should be able to expect a police officer to arrive on time.

“Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, especially in rural Alberta,” he said.

Bill 11 seeks to form ‘an independent police service agency’: Ellis

In March, Bill 11, the Public Safety Charter Amendment Act 2024, was introduced to the legislature. If passed, it would update the legislation to form what the province calls “an independent agency police service.” , with Alberta Sheriff’s law enforcement officers trained to the level of a police officer so they can “appropriately augment and support” both the RCMP and other police forces. services in the province, Ellis said.

“We need to stop thinking that only one police service can tackle some of the problems we face right now,” he said.

“The increase and support we’re doing with sheriffs is that when you’re in rural Alberta and you call 911 and there’s a sheriff that’s five minutes away and there’s an RCMP member that’s an hour away and half or two hours away, “I’m pretty sure you’d want the police officer five minutes away to try to help you.”

Article content

Alberta sheriffs are already carrying out policing duties, Ellis said, mentioning that some are members of ALERT and others are on gang suppression teams.

Critics have said The move is an attempt to introduce a provincial police service in Alberta to replace the RCMP.

Ellis has said Public Safety Canada has signaled the federal department may not want to continue contract policing.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t prepare for any type of scenario,” said Ellis, who mentioned this “signal check” during Friday’s announcement that the province was providing a $550,000 annual police grant to southern Alberta. . city ​​of Coaldale, which has not received federal police funding despite having a contract with the RCMP.

“If that’s not a signal check, I don’t know what is,” Ellis said.

Article content